Mother-child study tours from Tokyo to Vancouver

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Tel : 604-821-1954

Tue, June 07 2005

Some come to study English in Canada. Others want to try the overseas life while their pre-school kids get a taste of Canadian daycare. Yet others use it as a prep-course to migrate West.

Welcome to the growing business in Japan called "mother-and-child study abroad"--an industry run by travel agents and companies assisting young people wishing to study abroad.

One of the mother-child teams arrived in Vancouver last May. While the 41-year-old mom, a Tokyo-based osteopath, attended a language school, her two-year-old daughter stayed with a Canadian family and went to a family-run daycare center.

Japanese mothers are taking their kids, as young as two, to study abroad. Their working husbands stay behind.

The short mother-and-daughter trip was part of her preparations to start a chiropractic practice as well as to have her daughter study in Canada "because it allows people to have diverse ideas."

"I was surprised to find how well she adapted (to the surroundings)," the mother told Japanese media. Although she couldn't understand the language, she blended in with the children by playing with them."

Last Resort Inc., a Tokyo-based company offering services to Japanese who want to live abroad, helped the woman make the trip to Vancouver with her daughter. Established in 1998, it was sending about 300 pairs of mothers and kids a year overseas including to the U.S. and U.K. In 2004, Last Resort placed 506 parent-child pairs abroad.

Last Resort's manager, Yoshiko Nomura, said: "Parents' enthusiasm for sending children abroad while they are still very young continues to mount. Demand is showing no signs of slowing down."

Many Japanese moms are taking their toddlers overseas

"Participants in the parent-child study abroad program tend to be mainly a mother and her child, generally in the pre-school age. Mothers in their late 30's are most interested in studying abroad, but for some reason, they didn't have the chance to go when they were younger. Mothers give preference to study abroad and they now feel that taking their children abroad at an early age will be a great experience for them."

Last Resort finds preschools on the mothers' behalf and makes arrangements for their children's admission. It also dispatches staff to the airports to meet them and maintains a 24-hour Japanese-language telephone service, according to Nomura.

Space Alc of Tokyo has developed a variety of programs, including a plan for children fromthree months old to spend a week at a child-care center and play with local infants. Another program is for pupils to study English in local elementary schools.

A month's mother-child home-stay costs around 400,000 yen (about C$4,500) excluding airfare.